Sunday, February 14, 2016

Native Americans used a Dakota fire hole to hide cooking fires from their enemies. Turns out that these small pits also consume less wood while burning hotter than open fires. Plus, they excel in windy conditions and provide a great platform for cooking. The fire hole works by drawing fresh air into the combustion chamber. Hot air rises from the hole creating a draft that draws air through the vent and into the base of the fire. The cycle is self-­sustaining, and digging the vent on the upwind side of the fire hole helps suck up the breeze like the air scoop on the Bandit's Trans Am. Here's how to dig one.

Dig the fire chamber away from tree roots. Excavate a pit 1 foot in diameter and 1 foot deep. Now widen the base of the chamber a few inches so it has a juglike shape. This lets you burn larger pieces of wood.

Dig the air tunnel. Start a foot away from the edge of the chamber, on the upwind side, and carve out a mole-like tunnel 5 or 6 inches in diameter, angling down toward the base of the fire chamber.

Build your fire in the chamber and top the hole with a grate or green saplings stout enough to hold a pot over the flames.

Put out your fire. I'd be a bit more through than what is demonstrated below, though.

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Today is Scout Sunday, and I wanted to share with you my feelings on how Scouting can help the Young Men in our ward.

I shared the following link with your predecessor, and I think you would benefit from reading through it, too. I was the 11YO scout leader in the ward a few years back, and I learned so much about how Scouting, when properly carried out as a youth-led* and -driven program, provides practical preparation for not just missionary service, but the life skills our boys (and girls) will need upon leaving the house as 18YO 'adults'. Boys of priest age, especially, need these lessons reinforced, in addition the spiritual side. It's often said that Scouting (not basketball) is the activity arm of the Aaronic Priesthood (at least in the USA and Canada), but I have seen that that arm is often atrophied to the point of uselessness, and one-arm push-ups are really hard to sustain. (Picture a fencer here, with an oversized sword arm and tiny non-sword arm, if it helps.)

I have learned that a good Scoutmaster (to include Varsity Coach and Venturing Adviser) can turn every Scouting experience into a Duty to God moment, effectively converting 12 dedicated DTG nights into dozens of meaningful experiences. What I mean by that is that if the boys are taught to recognize the spiritual implications in every activity they undertake, whether Church, School, Scouting, etc. they will be more effective at helping others recognize those same things later on; instead of holding dedicated, compartmentalized "Duty to God Nights" to check off a line on a list, they will be more likely to continually do their duty to God. This means that camping must be more than sleeping in a tent and playing around all day.

I would urge you to evaluate how well Scouting is working in the YM organization, and if there are deficiencies, to remedy them. I would be happy to share with you my lessons learned and what I think are some best practices, if you would like.

*This past year, since B has been in the marching band, and I watched how they operate and have been impressed with what I have seen. Unlike the top-down, adult-centric leadership methods we use in Church, I noticed that the marching band was youth-led. The football, basketball and drill teams are the same way. Teachers and advisers teach and advise the youth leaders, but they don't take the field, even if something goes wrong. Instead they coach those leaders, who then are trusted to carry the instructions and lessons back to their team. This is the same model Scouting employs, but is the hardest thing for our volunteer leaders to figure out. It is also why I am fond of saying that "Presidents preside, Advisers advise."

Eric the Half-bee

The Volun-Told Oath

On my honor, I will do my bestTo do my “Duty to God” book and my Spalding,And to obey, honor and sustain some laws;To help other people when Br. Franklin organizes a Service Project™;To keep my avatar virtually strong, stay awake and morally clean too.

If this is a reflection of a Troop you know,blame the grown-ups, not the boys.

What's all this, then?

When I was on Active Duty in the Air Force, we'd refer to someone's being assigned a job they didn't want as having been volun-told. Scouters in the LDS Church are typically not volunteers, but are "called to serve" in Scouting positions. And so, we're an army of volun-tolds doing the best we can in a job we probably never would have asked for.

In late 2010, I was asked to serve as an Assistant Scoutmaster in my ward. This is my 4th or 5th Church Scouting assignment, but it's the first time I've really jumped in with both feet [edit - in late 2013, I was released from this responsibility, but I'm still a MBC]. Since then, I've learned a ton about what Scouting is, but more especially what it isn't, and fielded lots of questions from parents and others. This blog is intended to collect those ideas into a useful format, address those "traditions which are not correct", and to be a resource to other parents and Scouters.

This blog is not affiliated with either the LDS Church or the BSA. It is simply one dude's attempt to clear up confusion. The opinions stated here are mine, with citations to actual policies as required. I figure that if I'm going to say something is definitive, I at least owe you the source for that definition.